Overview
- The Education Department, which finalized the rule Thursday, set July 1, 2026 as the start date and will let colleges set program-level loan caps.
- The rule ends Grad PLUS and sets new caps including a $257,500 lifetime limit overall, $20,500 a year ($100,000 lifetime) for graduate study, $50,000 a year ($200,000 lifetime) for narrowly defined professional programs, and $20,000 a year for Parent PLUS.
- The department limited “professional” status to 11 doctorates such as medicine, law and dentistry, placing fields like nursing, physical therapy and social work under the lower graduate caps.
- Existing income-driven plans will be replaced by a streamlined Repayment Assistance Plan that sets at least $10 monthly payments and forgives unpaid interest, which officials project will raise payments for many borrowers.
- Private lenders like Navient and Sallie Mae are positioning for new business as health-care groups for physician assistants and nurse anesthetists prepare court challenges over access and workforce impacts.